Hermeneutics
On the Ordo Salutis and Colossians 2:13, As Presented by Brian N. Daniels
Submitted by WilliamBirch on Tue, 06/22/2010 - 8:36amThe following is taken from a larger essay, exegeting Colossians 2:13, by Brian N. Daniels1, a M.Div. student at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a four-point Calvinist.
"Of the many issues that divide Arminians and Calvinists, one of the more interesting has to be the relationship between regeneration and faith. The question may be put like this: which comes first and grounds the other, new life given by the Spirit or belief in Christ? This question is important because of its connection to many other points of soteriology. One’s answer generally reveals much about what he believes regarding the nature of grace and depravity, as well as the more difficult issue of election and predestination.
Arminius answers Beckwith
Submitted by Godismyjudge on Thu, 04/15/2010 - 7:55amBeckwith states: Because the list of canonical books is itself not found in Scripture—as one can find the Ten Commandments or the names of Christ's Apostles—any such list, whether Protestant or Catholic, would be an item of extra-Biblical theological knowledge. (link)
Arminius responds:
Calvinism & Determinism
Submitted by Godismyjudge on Tue, 03/23/2010 - 9:40amIt seems Calvinism is simply determinism in the context of soteriology. Determinism is the cause and TULIP is the result. Let's walk through TULIP to see if we can spot determinism.
Total Depravity - Hum... not necessarily deterministic, unless one adds either that man is unable to choose between sinful options or that God treats an unable man as able.
Unconditional Election - Our destiny is determined before we were born without having anything to do with us. Clearly deterministic.
Limited Atonement - Christ's death was sufficient for all meaning if He had died for the reprobate, He could have been able to save them. The "possibility" of salvation is based on a different past then the actual past - a hallmark of determinism.
Irresistible grace - Those under grace cannot choose to reject. Denying contrary choice is another sign of determinism.
Brian Abasciano, "Clearing Up Misconceptions about Corporate Election"
This article defends the concept of corporate election against the criticisms that have been leveled against it, showing that they arise mostly from misunderstanding of the concept. It argues that corporate election is the biblical view of election unto salvation, which means that election unto salvation is conditional on faith in Christ. This version of the article has different page numbers and may have some other slight differences from the published version.
Please click on one of the attachments to view Brian J. Abasciano, "Clearing Up Misconceptions about Corporate Election", Ashland Theological Journal 41 (2009) 67-102. The first attachment has footnotes with 12 point font that are double spaced. The second attachment is simply the same article with footnotes that are 10 point font and single spaced .
Proof-texting Presuppositions with John 6:44, 65
Submitted by Eric Landstrom on Wed, 12/30/2009 - 10:17amProof-texting Presuppositions with John 6:44, 65
- John 6:44 and 6:65 are commonly used as proof-texts that more often than not reveal the exegete’s presuppositions that are imposed upon the Gospel According to John than I believe John the Evangelist hoped to present in his Gospel. John 6:65 reads, "And he said, 'Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father,' " and John 6:44 reads, “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day."
From reading these two texts, where does one find evidence from these texts to make the following Calvinist assertions?
- Is predestination found in the text? No. Only if the reader pours it in.
Is individual election found in the text? No. Only if the reader pours it in.
Is eternal security found in the text? No. Only if the reader pours it in.
Brian Abasciano On the Corporate Perspective of Paul and His Culture, the Translation of Rom 9:6b, and Corporate Election in Romans 9
This document contains two excerpts from Brian Abasciano, “Paul’s Use of the Old Testament in Romans 9.1-9: An Intertextual and Theological Exegesis” (Ph.D. thesis; University of Aberdeen, 2004). This doctoral dissertation is available in full at the Society of Evangelical Arminians website, and has been revised and published under the same title. The first excerpt provided here addresses the corporate orientation of Paul and his culture, which serves as significant context for Paul’s concept of corporate election. The second excerpt addresses the translation of Romans 9:6b, countering John Piper’s view of the verse advanced in his well known study, The Justification of God: An Exegetical and Theological Study of Romans 9:1-23, used to support Piper’s position of unconditional individualistic election. The second excerpt further argues for corporate election unto salvation in Romans 9 over against individualistic election. Please click on the attachment to view the file.
John Goodwin, *Redemption Redeemed*
- Apostasy
- Arminianism
- Assurance
- Atonement
- Bible Passages
- Calling
- Calvinism
- Depravity
- Determinism
- Election
- Faith
- Foreknowledge
- Free Will
- General
- Grace
- Hermeneutics
- Monergism & Synergism
- Ordo Salutis
- Perseverance
- Predestination
- Prevenient Grace
- Providence
- Regeneration
- Reprobation
- Sovereignty of God
- Union with Christ
Now available here online, John Goodwin's Redemption Redeemed may be the best defense of Arminianism ever written. Published in 1651 by the Arminian Puritan John Goodwin (1593-1665), it is written in seventeenth century English with a Puritan writing style, which can make for challenging reading. But it contains tremendous biblical exegesis. The patient reader will be rewarded with a powerful, classic, comprehensive, biblical defense of five point Reformation Arminian theology.
The Calvinistic Hermeneutic, Opposed
Submitted by WilliamBirch on Wed, 09/02/2009 - 7:29amCalvinism's view of the sovereignty of God is its hermeneutical grid by which the rest of the Bible is interpreted. As Silva writes, "The God who controls the events of history is the God who interprets those events in Scripture . . ."1 He cites 1 Kings 12:15 as a proof text to support his thesis: "So the king did not listen to the people, for this turn of events was from the LORD, to fulfill the word the LORD had spoken to Jeroboam." Thus, for the Calvinist, everything that happens in the earth was meticulously predetermined by God's causative, unchangeable will. And somehow, God is not responsible for all that he brings about.
The Calvinistic Hermeneutic, Stated
Submitted by WilliamBirch on Mon, 08/31/2009 - 7:30amHermeneutics is "the discipline that studies the theory, principles, and methods used to interpret texts, especially ancient ones such as the sacred Scriptures. Traditional hermeneutics focuses primarily on the discovery of the historical meaning as intended by the author and understood by the original audience."1 Thus a Calvinistic hermeneutic is the discipline that studies the theory, principles, and methods which Calvinists use to interpret the Bible.
The Failure of God?
Submitted by SEA on Wed, 08/26/2009 - 8:59amThe following post is comprised of comments submitted to our website by sirhemlock@yahoo.com, slightly revised with the author's permission.
Insofar as such infamous "failed God" arguments clearly assume the doctrine of irresistible grace (grace=force/deterministic salvation) as the very thing which God "fails to achieve," such arguments are entirely circular if they are intended as a counter to non-Calvinist theological systems.
If God fails to save some deterministically, this would not entail that God is therefore palsied or impotent, but rather that He is neither a Calvinist nor a determinist.
